Photo: Rachel Kramer · CC BY 2.0Empire at work: jobs, income and the commute
21% of workers have no commute at all, where Michigan as a whole has 14%. Hardly any work in Empire; the top destination outside it is Glen Arbor Township (22%, 14 miles). At 24 minutes each way, commutes from Empire run about the Michigan average.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How a workday changes Empire
On a workday 83 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 128 people come in from elsewhere.
About 400 people are in Empire on a workday afternoon, 13% more than live here.
1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2021, primary jobs.
Where Empire’s workers come from
Where Empire clocks in
22% of workers
16% of workers
10% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Most jobs in Empire are in services
128 jobs are based in Empire.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Empire, 2011 → 2021: 165 → 128. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2021.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Empire’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Empire: about 24 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Empire workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 93 commuters (the 21% who work from home are left out). Across Michigan: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The distance from Empire to work
About 41% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2021.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2021, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Empire: questions
What is the median household income in Empire?
$83,929 (±$33,750) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Empire?
14.7%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Empire?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Empire work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Glen Arbor Township (22%, 14 mi), Traverse City (16%, 23 mi), Empire Township (10%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Empire without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 16% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Empire, from the people who make the trip.
More of Empire
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2021, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.